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Article
Publication date: 13 November 2017

Nico Nieboer

Recent findings from a monitor containing around 1.5 million homes in the Dutch non-profit rental sector show that the improvement of the energy performance of the respective…

Abstract

Purpose

Recent findings from a monitor containing around 1.5 million homes in the Dutch non-profit rental sector show that the improvement of the energy performance of the respective homes is mostly carried out in small steps: single measures per dwelling dominate and deep energy renovations are rare. From the way in which housing providers conceive and implement their portfolio and asset management strategies, the purpose of this paper is to explain for the dominance of the small interventions and investigate the argument for a more concentrated allocation of budget resources.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 12 housing providers with different energy investment policies were selected and interviewed.

Findings

Results show that energy investments, as most other investments, must fit in regular investment schemes and have to follow general decision criteria such as the lifespan of the respective building element and the market position of the respective dwelling. As these schemes are limited in budget and time, the room for a more concentrated allocation of budget resources is small.

Research limitations/implications

The number of organisations interviewed is obviously not statistically representative, but gives a good indication of the investment planning practice in the Dutch non-profit housing sector.

Originality/value

Much has been written about the (slow) progress of the energy performance in the housing sector, but not about the more structural organisational forces behind this progress.

Details

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, vol. 35 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-4708

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 November 2010

Tony Gilmour, Ilan Wiesel, Simon Pinnegar and Martin Loosemore

The purpose of this paper is to use the example of public housing renewal public‐private partnerships (PPPs) to build knowledge on whether social infrastructure PPPs may appeal to…

672

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use the example of public housing renewal public‐private partnerships (PPPs) to build knowledge on whether social infrastructure PPPs may appeal to the private sector as a less risky investment in a time of global financial uncertainty.

Design/methodology/approach

The research is based on an international literature review and a limited number of semi‐structured interviews with social housing PPP participants in England, the USA and Australia. These interviews were conducted by Dr Gilmour as part of his doctoral research in 2008.

Findings

The familiar distinction between social and other forms of infrastructure PPPs has been found to be unhelpful in the case of public housing renewal. This type of PPPs, through their cross‐subsidisation model, face relatively high revenue risk during a recession. However, the commitment of the public sector to the social goals of such projects suggests contract negotiation rather than default is likely if problems occur. PPP risks need to be understood by studying their detailed contract terms, rather than by broad categorisations.

Research limitations/implications

This paper provides a grounded discussion rather than detailed research findings. Only a small number of projects are included and they are not necessarily representative. Cross‐national comparison is challenging because of different housing policies and economic conditions.

Originality/value

This paper fills a gap in the literature by both contrasting approaches to a particular type of social infrastructure PPP in different countries, and by making an early assessment of the likely impact of recent turbulence in financial and property markets.

Details

Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-4387

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2017

Anne Vorre Hansen

The aim of this paper is to give an empirical illustration of value co-creation and to argue for narrative methodology as a fruitful analytical strategy when exploring the…

1080

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to give an empirical illustration of value co-creation and to argue for narrative methodology as a fruitful analytical strategy when exploring the processes of value co-creation.

Design/methodology/approach

Through an in-depth case study in the non-profit housing sector in Denmark, the research explored how residents perceive and co-create value in a long-term service relationship. The point of departure is an understanding of value co-creation as a phenomenological construct determined by the beneficiary, and the research is based primarily on the perspectives of service-dominant logic and customer-dominant logic.

Findings

The research elucidated how value is both socially created and deconstructed through stories. Moreover, narrative analysis revealed how residents’ perceptions of services are deeply embedded in context and time. In this way, the study highlighted that the co-creation of value is inherently social and temporal.

Practical implications

Understanding how value is perceived and negotiated by customers might assist practitioners to refine their understanding of value co-creation and lead them to address customers in more nuanced ways.

Originality/value

Prevailing streams in service research on value co-creation argue for more studies and empirically grounded examples of value co-creation processes, especially those based in the customer sphere. This paper contributes to such an enhanced understanding of the process of value co-creation and gives the outline of a new methodology for studies in this specific area of service research.

Details

European Business Review, vol. 29 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-534X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2011

Johan Conijn and Frans Schilder

This paper aims to present a model that analyses the value gap, the difference between vacant possession value and tenanted investment value, for the houses of Dutch housing

1161

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present a model that analyses the value gap, the difference between vacant possession value and tenanted investment value, for the houses of Dutch housing associations. The paper also aims to explore why the value gap is a structural phenomenon in The Netherlands and why it is an important factor contributing to the malfunctioning of the housing market. This gives an interesting expansion of the value gap theory.

Design/methodology/approach

By using the well‐known concept of user costs and using market equilibrium as a reference, the model quantifies the influence of six factors that cause the value gap. This is done for The Netherlands in total and for each of the 452 housing associations separately.

Findings

The value gap between the owner‐occupied and the rental sector is immense. This is especially the case with the rented houses owned by the housing associations, constituting one‐third of the total housing stock. The vacant possession value of these houses is on average €151,000; the reported tenanted investment value is no more than €33,000. Important factors that are responsible for this gap are, on the one hand, the fiscal subsidies in the owner‐occupied sector and, on the other hand, rent control and the policy of the housing associations characterised by a low rent level and high maintenance and management costs.

Originality/value

This is the first paper that analyses and quantifies the factors contributing to the value lost by Dutch housing associations' operations.

Details

Property Management, vol. 29 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-7472

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 October 2009

Nick Falvo

The emergent Housing First model, focused on new means of rapid rehousing of the homeless, is popular in North America among policy makers and the mass media. Yet little has been…

Abstract

The emergent Housing First model, focused on new means of rapid rehousing of the homeless, is popular in North America among policy makers and the mass media. Yet little has been written on the Housing First model's transferability to Canadian municipalities. This report documents, analyses and interprets Toronto's Streets to Homes (S2H) programme, using primary and secondary research including semi‐structured key informant interviews. The report concludes with a brief consideration of the article's implications for leadership.

Details

Housing, Care and Support, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-8790

Keywords

Abstract

Details

A Neoliberal Framework for Urban Housing Development in the Global South
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83797-034-6

Book part
Publication date: 14 February 2008

Leslie Kern and Gerda R. Wekerle

In the post-industrial economies of large urban centers, redevelopment has become the primary engine of economic growth. Redevelopment projects are designed to encourage…

Abstract

In the post-industrial economies of large urban centers, redevelopment has become the primary engine of economic growth. Redevelopment projects are designed to encourage investment, attract tourism and bring new residents to the city. This form of city building is driven by a neoliberal urban agenda that embraces privatization, and is controlled by the economic interests of private business. In this chapter, we argue that city building under a neoliberal rubric is also a gendered political process, the outcome of which is the redevelopment of urban space in ways that reflect a masculinist and corporatist view of city life. Moreover, both the form of redevelopment and the process itself function to limit public participation in the life and growth of cities, particularly for women and other marginalized groups. In the first section of this chapter, Gendered spaces of redevelopment, we examine how the results of such a process are made manifest in the built form of Canada's largest city, Toronto, with a population of 2.5 million. The city is experiencing a major process of redevelopment and city building that is evident in a massive wave of condominium construction. We suggest that condominium projects, as a particular form of redevelopment, create privatized spaces and encourage privatized services that articulate neatly with a neoliberal urban agenda.

Details

Gender in an Urban World
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-7623-1477-5

Article
Publication date: 1 August 2008

Leslie S. Oakes and Joni J. Young

The purpose of this paper is to re‐examine accountability in a concrete historical context from the perspective of pragmatism and feminist theory.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to re‐examine accountability in a concrete historical context from the perspective of pragmatism and feminist theory.

Design/methodology/approach

An archival case study of Hull House.

Findings

Both pragmatism and feminist theory of Benhabib provide new insight into alternative conceptions of accountability, conceptions at odds with the prevailing and dominant emphasis on quantitative measures of performance. Further, this paper suggests that this limited view severely narrows the understanding of organizational “success.”

Research limitations/implications

While this research serves to problematize notions of accountability further, it leaves the task of developing alternative practices to future researchers.

Originality/value

This paper contributes in two ways: first, there is a paucity of research linking pragmatism to the actual workings of concrete organizations. This paper begins to fill that gap. Second, this work draws the attention of accounting and other organizational researchers to the important role played by the settlement movement, and particularly Hull House, in the development of contemporary organizations.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 21 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2012

Sonya L. Jakubec, Andreas Tomaszewski, Tracy Powell and Joseph Osuji

The challenges of achieving housing stability are examinable from a variety of locations and perspectives, resulting in a range of solutions and recommendations for practice…

1066

Abstract

Purpose

The challenges of achieving housing stability are examinable from a variety of locations and perspectives, resulting in a range of solutions and recommendations for practice. Attending to the experiences and understandings of both service users and service providers within a broad environmental scan, one can obtain a more complete picture of how housing stability can be supported and sustained. The purpose of this research is to better understand the practical landscape, human relationships, interdisciplinary understandings and everyday activities of housing stability.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on thematic analysis from expert informant interviews conducted during an environmental scan of housing options and facilities for those who have been labelled “hard to house” in a large, ethnically‐diverse urban city in western Canada. Interviews of selected service users yielded information on their perspectives of the barriers and facilitators of housing stability. Parallel interviews of service providers and/or policy makers were also conducted, and responses compared and contrasted with those of service users.

Findings

Three interconnected patterns on the path to housing stability were experienced by the expert informants, and are explored herein. The overlapping and developmental themes “more than a house,” “finding support,” and “connecting multiple supports” are discussed. Conditions and realities of coordinated support need, particularly for those deemed “hard to house” because of addictions or mental health problems were revealed by the expert informants in this study.

Research limitations/implications

Thematic analysis of the parallel interviews brought the landscape of housing stability into clearer focus and contributed to practice recommendations. This qualitative research approach was not intended to provide generalizable findings, but rather sheds light on particular experiences and understandings in ways that may contribute to further research. The themes identified may resonate in differing circumstances having arisen from the more generalized practical realities and social conditions which warrant an ongoing analysis.

Practical implications

The analysis revealed an ongoing gap of support for the management and coordination of the often complex requirements of support for housing stability for service users. Various service agencies, providing houses, providing financial aid, providing health and social support need to “connect multiple levels of support” something identified as an all too often missing link in achieving housing stability. Recommendations include recognizing the necessity of multiple sectors working together with multiple sites and layers of support, in particular for those who experience addictions or mental health problems. More tailored support, follow up and recognition of the potential for instability is a particular practical implication of the study. Invigorating a coordinative, case management role, with a view to bridging and bringing together seemingly disparate sectors and service providers are relevant practical implications of this study.

Originality/value

The research is novel in approach, drawing on a parallel expert informant interview process, and findings are of relevance to practical activities in housing, social and health services and policy as well as for scholarly dialogue and discussion.

Details

Housing, Care and Support, vol. 15 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-8790

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2014

Nico Nieboer, Ad Straub and Henk Visscher

In recent years, energy efficiency is a topic of growing importance not only on the political agenda of many Western countries, but also in the management of individual housing

Abstract

In recent years, energy efficiency is a topic of growing importance not only on the political agenda of many Western countries, but also in the management of individual housing providers in these countries. Although there are many publications on how these organisations take up the topic of energy efficiency in their policies and activities, not so much has been written about the progress in policy in the national housing sectors as a whole. This paper presents the results of an investigation about the policy developments in the non-profit housing sector in the Netherlands, in which the present situation is compared with that of four years ago. Where did the Dutch non-profit housing providers stand in their policy development concerning energy efficiency, and where do they stand now? Have they become more ambitious or less ambitious? The paper also deals with the main stimuli and barriers that the non-profit housing providers have perceived. The findings show a progress in policy in the period under investigation, but this progress seems too small to attain national and international targets for 2020.

Details

Open House International, vol. 39 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0168-2601

Keywords

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